"Project Orangepeel" 52 A.D

[reaper71]

Ok guys i am finally starting a build on my 1952 A.D "orangepeel" i got the truck several years ago and have been working on it for sometime now but with customer projects in the shop I just dont have as much time to work on my own..
so here we go its a 52 and i wanted the rough look with nice suspension,fuel inj. coilovers,crazy interior etc. when i got the truck it already had a 1973 camaro stub under it and after getting it in the shop i found out real quick the horrible work that was done I wanted it to sit nice and low so i decided to Z the front stub to keep geometry the same and not have to use dropped spindles.
here is afew pics of when I rolled her in...
as you can see it was pretty nasty so my next post i'll show what was under the ugly!!!

Mark

[oldman3]

About time you started posting...Dad

[oossuuu754]

I will tag along. Orange is my favorite color.

On a side note, I spent many a first weeks of May up in the Mt. View area turkey hunting my late Uncle's ranch. Fond memories

[reaper71]

so in this post the first photos are of the cover plates that were on the front end as it rolled in with...
the 3rd pic is of the cover cut off and it exposes the poor welding underneath.
the 4th pic as well..
the last one is of the spot i will cut (yellow line) and the stantion it is used to
set the ride height @ stock then once the frame is cut it can be dropped as needed (will show more pics on that.

Mark

[reaper71]

in this post I am showing some more of the
weak metal and welding that was done.
1. showing the frame was cut in one spot and poor welds
2.showing the stantion witch hold stubs in stock position
3. making my cuts to remove stub.
4. using the chain fall connected to the cab to lower into position.
5. here you can see the amount of "Z" it will have..

[reaper71]

# 2

[reaper71]

pics 4 and 5

[reaper71]

here in this post i am showing the final steps for the "Z'd" front stub.
1. showing stub with 2x4 tubing welded to it this will add strength
2.2x4 tube added to both sides and fully welded where the frames come together.
3. all pieces welded in.
4. the outer plates added to clean up the look.
5. all welds smoothed out and boxed in.

[reaper71]

next set of pics

[dmack91]

Definite improvement over the original. Keep up the good work.

[NEWFISHER]

Nice work. Is the 5/26/11 date correct in the pic? if so, must feel good to get back on it!

[Advanced Design]

Nice save, great work, way better!
Is Oldman3 your Dad....curious due to Jim's post. Would be great if my folks were into building.

[oldman3]

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

Nice save, great work, way better!
Is Oldman3 your Dad....curious due to Jim's post. Would be great if my folks were into building.

AD, I'll answer this question, Yes that's my son. We've done a few jobs together, but now all the work is his, with me helping when he needs me. He hasn't been able to work on his that much, but is getting to now. My only wish is I wish we could have started when I was a few years younger, but we still get the job done...Jim

[Advanced Design]

Originally Posted by oldman3

AD, I'll answer this question, Yes that's my son. We've done a few jobs together, but now all the work is his, with me helping when he needs me. He hasn't been able to work on his that much, but is getting to now. My only wish is I wish we could have started when I was a few years younger, but we still get the job done...Jim

Mark and Jim, that is so awesome! Mark you do really nice work. Were the upper control arms shorter? Dumb question as they must be to bring camber in.

[reaper71]

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

Mark and Jim, that is so awesome! Mark you do really nice work. Were the upper control arms shorter? Dumb question as they must be to bring camber in.

A.D. thanks for the compliment.. on the upper control arms are shorter. they measure 8" from center of ball joint to the flat of the mounting surface. they are stock car upper arms they are ava. in several lengths as are the lower arms they
were not very good looking hence the reason i cut my own..

Mark...

[reaper71]

yes all the dates are correct this build has been on and off for some time now and a lot of work is already done ..I wanted to get some work finished before I started a thread...


Thanks Mark..

[reaper71]

A.D. me and Dad have worked together on several builds now we still get to kick ideas back and forth and he is my researcher for info on things thanks to this site, and all the great builders on here..

Mark...

[reaper71]

ok here is my next set of pics enjoy


Mark...

[reaper71]

here is a shot of the chassis after the rear springs,shackles etc were removed

[reaper71]

this shows the boxing done on the frame as well as the mocking stages of the Triangulated 4 bar (used a paul horton kit) the axle was set in place and angle set then using 1x2 tube i welded it to the axle and the frame to hold in place to keep from moving..

[reaper71]

another shot of boxing

[reaper71]

Here i'm showing the upper bar mockup and the upper bar for the coilovers. I used 2" round tube kinda heavy wall (it's was was cheap at the time) and if you notice the tube the ground clamp is on is the tube to hold axle in place..

[reaper71]

finally a shot of the 4 bar all in and weled in solid..

[reaper71]

quick shot of the notch i used a piece of 4" tube..next pic is of it all welded and boxed..


Mark...

[SARBlade]

Originally Posted by reaper71

quick shot of the notch i used a piece of 4" tube..next pic is of it all welded and boxed..


Mark...

Hi, I know this has been awhile since you built your truck, but I see you’re still messing with it, great build by the way! I am starting a project myself on a ‘56, I have the same triangulated 4 link set up that I’m putting into mine. I have a question regarding your install if you’d mine sharing some info. I have a 10 bolt from a Camaro rear end going in, the large cast pumpkin, has issues, can’t weld to it, and it takes up room. I want to do the same direction of angles you used but welding the upper links as close to the pumpkin, and going forward only gives me about 22 degrees of opening vice the 25 I am looking for. Yours appears like the angle is closer to 30 degrees. Also, your uppers appear to point upwards vice inclining down toward the IC of the truck to prevent too much pinion angle movement. Lastly, your bottom bars look parallel with the ground, and are mounted on the inside of your frame. What is the distance in between your frame rails? Mine is 41.5”, this makes it really difficult for me to mount my lowers on the inside, I am thinking directly under the frame rail. Any insight you have would be greatly appreciated. Thanks